On Sunday we moved to Rocky Harbour in Gros Morne National Park a 1805 sq km area. Gros Morne is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the 2nd largest park in Atlantic Canada. The scenery driving into the park along the Viking trail was absolutely incredible with rugged coastline, lush forests, fields of wild flowers and majestic mountains. While we didn’t see any wildlife, Gros Morne is home to a wide range of wildlife, including moose, caribou and bald eagles.
The weather was overcast and there was a layer of mist/fog over the top of the distant mountains as we drove in. By the time we arrived at the Gros Morne RV Park the mist had started to envelope the mountains all around us, until eventually the whole sky was thick grey. This lasted a couple of hours and then all of a sudden the mist lifted again and it was sunny. Lucy and I made use of the good weather to take Jax for a walk in the area. We headed towards the water and ended up at the harbour. It was a lovely, picturesque little area with a nice beach, the oceanview inn and a few brightly coloured coffee and souvenir shops. We walked around a bit, took some photos of the view and then walked back to the RV.
The following day we were keen to show Derek Rocky Harbour, so we all drove down together, walked a short brook trail and then drove down to Norris Point which was about 15 mins away. Norris Point is situated on Bonne Bay which was carved out approximately 10,000 years ago by two large glaciers. It has always been a convenient location from which to access the coastal waters of Labrador. The primary sources of employment are at the five local lobster factories and a herring fishery. In the past, Norris Point was also a trading post and while fishing was always the dominant industry, fur trapping also became very popular and local families would exchange fish and fur for supplies, food and clothing. In the early 1900s a ferry service was established and runs numerous times a day between Norris Point and Woody Point.
The views from Norris Point across the bay were quite stunning and the water at the beach was surprisingly warm. There was a Marine Discovery centre which was unfortunately closed. We walked around for a bit and then headed for the Cat Stop pub for some Cod bites and cocktails.
The following day turned out to be the best trip so far. After reading up about Gros Morne when we were in Corner Brook, I booked a boat tour for the three of us in the Western Brook Pond. It was everything I had read about … and more.
The two hour boat tour on the Western Brook Pond was reached by an easy 3 km walk along a trail surrounded on both sides by wildflowers, lakes and mountains. Western Brook Pond is a Canadian fjord, surrounded by very steep rock walls – some 2000 ft high, and was carved out by glaciers. When the glaciers melted, the land ended up being rebounded – this is when the land mass rises due to the release of pressure which would have previously been applied by the glacier. So the fjord ended up being cut off by the sea. What a magnificent area. From pristine waters, to billion year old cliffs, to numerous waterfalls including the Pissing Mare Falls at 1,150 ft – one of the highest in North America which turns to mist before reaching the pond. In 2001 a part of the surrounding cliff broke off and fell into the pond, creating a 100 ft Tsunami.
We managed the walk very easily and arrived ahead of schedule at the boat dock, so we ordered a soft drink and ate some of the lunch we had brought with us. We didn’t feel like lining up but ended up with a shitty seat inside the boat as a result. As I was determined to take lots of videos, I moved to the front of the boat and found an awesome spot above everyone’s heads on the stairs leading from the top of the boat down to the front. It was an incredible boat trip and one I think we will all remember for a long time. Later as we got closer to the dock I joined Lucy and Derek downstairs – they had been looking at the views at the back of the boat. The host was a jolly old fellow and made the fatal mistake of coming over to us and trying to teach Lucy how to do drumming with spoons. She got a bit mixed up and I ended up doing it with him. I was no better and had a good laugh even smacking his bum with the spoons at the end. He got such a fright he jumped in the air. I shouldnt have done that but we all had a good laugh at the end.
That night we had an absolute storm at the RV park. Very high winds buffeting the RV all night long with the slide toppers going crazy. Very hard to sleep. The following day was no better. We could hardly open the door. We hunkered down and got stuck into work again.
The following day was Thursday and we needed to take Lucy to the Deer Lake airport an hour away, so she could catch a plane back to Victoria. It started off windy again but did die down later in the afternoon. We left about 4pm and decided to do a short walk around Deer Lake beach first to stretch our legs before heading somewhere for dinner. The contrast of the clear, grey water with the pristine, terracotta coloured sand and surrounding green grass looked so inviting. Would have loved to have gone for a dip! We learned that Deer Lake got its name when European settlers first came to the valley and saw Caribou crossing the lake. They thought that the Caribou were Deer – hence the name! Deer Lake has its own hydro electric plant and its water supply is among the best and safest supplies of municipal drinking water in the world. Like Corner Brook, it seemed that Deer Lake also did not have any dog friendly restaurants, so we ended up buying food at Jungle Jim’s Eatery and taking it over to Deer Lake beach and eating at the picnic table before dropping her off at the airport.
Friday was our last day in Gros Morne park and we caught the 15 minute water taxi from Norris Point to Woody Point.Woody Point is situated on Bonne Bay which is actually two connecting fjords. The longer of the two is the south arm, which runs more or less straight for 18 km out to the mouth of the bay. The east arm is joined to the south arm across a shallow sill, known as “The Tickle” and is by far the deeper of the two fjords of about 756 feet. Woody Point is considered a heritage district with most of the buildings on the waterfront dating from 1922 with one as old as 1890.
We had planned to do the infamous Tablelands hike but hadn’t realized the start of the trail was 5km from the terminal, so after about 3 km we stopped instead at the Discovery centre to learn more about the area and have some coffee and partridge berry scones on the outside patio which had sweeping views of the valley. After some discussions with the staff, we decided the best thing to do was return here by car when we double back to Gros Morne, before heading to the east of Newfoundland. Walking back to the water taxi we got caught in a bit of a downpour but we are getting used to these sudden bouts of drenching rain which disappear just as quickly as they occur.
We had some time to kill before the water taxi arrived, so I popped across the road to a small shop and bought a mango smoothie and some lovely hand knitted socks. They were black with green and had a map of NL on the front of the foot. Cant wait to use them in the RV, my feet are always cold!
